Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-06
SLAVES On TIE RED SEA.
GREAT BOLoNESS OF SLAVE STEAL
ERS FROM sOUDAN.

Slave Dhows Captured by British Vessels.
A Seven Weeks Drive from Khartoum
Fostered.
A few weeks ago it was announced in the
house of commons that the slave trade had
been reopencd on a la1gc scale on the north
tasf coast Of Africa. Sir ]. Ferguson, the
Under secretary OF state FOR foreign affairs.
said that both THE i2ngllSh and French govern
Tenls had taken energetic steps to suppress
the evil Since that time British vessels i'll
the Rcd sea have captured -four slave dhowS
aud the Egyptian government has fitted them
up cruisers for the suppression of the ia
famous trade The slavelS We're never 50
bold before. They tak, their human cargoeS
to Je,ldali, which is the port OF Mecca on the
lied sea, and they boldly incur the greatest
risks les than three weeks ago the launch
oi British man of war was attacked by a
shaver, ami siA Englishnen We're wounded in
the fight The ihUw was, however, sunk,
and forty three slaves Were rescued.
The slave dealers are Soudanese, the fol
lowers of the new MahdL All restriction
upon slave stealing in the Soudan being now
removed, they have once more tapped their
old source Of supply III southern DaIfur and
the Bahr el GbaZal region. Slaves are being
driven 10y thousands to khartoum. If the
dealers can only smugsl' their victims over
to Jeddah and Mecca their profits are enor-
| nous. Young women and big boys who can
be driven to the coast ut IA total cost of not
over SIS apiece sell readily III the larger Ara
bians towns for from i've to ten times that
| amount.
GREAT RISKS-ENoRMOUS PROFITS.
The temptation to run great risks in order
| to pocket these great profits is enormous
| particularly as the Soudanese are in desper
ate need of trade goods and the slaveI's have
| only to return home with cloth ami other de
sirable commodities 10 reap another large
| harvest. The slave trade is now stimulate;
not only by the great profits OF the business
but also by the fact that ali trade is contra
| band. The merchants run just as great risk
| if they are caught with ostrich feathers Oh
| ivory, on which the profit is much less thai
on slaves. They are therefore contining
themselves to slaves.
| The suilerinss of the poor caplives are terri
bic 1t takes about Sven weeks to driv,
| them from khartoum 10 the coast. On,
| party that recently left khartoum 800 strong
reached the coast only 200 in number. Th
| bones of the other hundred strew the rout
| from Berber To the sea. 1t is said that abou
| 5000 slaves have been smuggled across tn
| Red Sea 10 Jeddah since Jan. l. 1t is re
| maikable that the semi -barlarians Of tn
| Soudan are able TO carry on so large a trad
| in these. Every dhow whose hold is packe,
| with black merchandise crosses the bus,
highway followed by most If the vessels ply
ing between Europe and the Orient.
The slaves are taken to some little harbo
9r anchorage north or south of Souaku
which is the only point where British vessel
are stationed. They are quickly packed int
dhows ich slip over to Jeddah in the nigh
time The people of Jeddah and Mecca az
slave dealers themselves and thorough syn
pathizers with the Soudanese, and the traffi
IS secretly fostered by the Turkish author
ties IN those towns 1t has just been dscoy
cred that many of these new slaves have bee
introduced into Egypt by pilgrim bands +,
turning home, who pretend that the captive
are legitimate parts Of their caravan. Man
of these slaves have been liberated by IL
anthorities-New York sun.